The lifetime cumulative incidence of acute anterior uveitis in a normal population and its relation to ankylosing spondylitis and histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27.

The lifetime cumulative incidence of acute anterior uveitis (AAU) was determined in a sample of a large population (n = 10,500). Nine hundred seventeen subjects, who answered the question "Have you ever had a red eye" in the affirmative in 1977, were asked to participate in a follow-up study 10 years later. From the 917 respondents, 539 were studied completely. A questionnaire was used to collect historic data, and confirmation of these data was obtained from the treating ophthalmologists and physicians. From these data, subjects were selected for an ophthalmologic examination. The respondents also underwent a rheumatologic examination. The results revealed that the lifetime cumulative incidence of definite AAU is approximately 0.2% in the general population and 1% in the histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27-positive population. In one third of the definite AAU patients, the cause of the disease was known. The lifetime cumulative incidence of definite AAU of unknown cause was 0.15% in the general population. When possible and probable AAU are included, the lifetime cumulative incidence of AAU in the general population is about 0.4%. The observed frequency of the concurrence of AAU and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was 0.4% in the HLA-B27-positive population and 0.02% in the HLA-B27-negative population. Comparison with the expected frequency of the concurrence of AAU and AS revealed that AAU and AS probably are related diseases irrespective of the association of both diseases with HLA-B27.